Washing-machine.



T. MOEAGHRAN.

WASHING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED JUN; e, 1908.

930,680. n Patented Aug10,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' T. MUEAGHRAN. 4

WASHING MACHINE.

` v APPLIoA'rIoN FILED JUNE e, 190s. 930,680. Patented Aug. 1o, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

Fig.

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l l l l i I 1 ANDREW. s, GRAHAM om Pnou'momunma WASHINGYogL u t;

THOMAS MCEACHRAN, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.-

wAsrNG-MAGHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

Application lled. June 6, i908. Serial 1510.431108.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS MoEAoHRAN, a citizen of the United States, residing lat Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented- Certain new and useful Improvements in Washing- Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient washing machine; and to this end it consists of. the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and dened inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicateV like parts throughout the'several-views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view, with some parts broken away, showing the improved machine. Fig. 2 is a detail in section taken approximately on the line r2 rc2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line r3 x3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken through the machine on the line x4 x4 of Fig. 1. o v

The tub 1 has a depending spindle 2 concentrically secured to its bottom and mountedin suitable bearings 3 and 4 cfa supporting frame 5. Preferably the tub 1 isprovided with a corrugated bottom afforded by',

transversely extended parallel cleats 6. As shown, the tub coveris made up of sections 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The sections 7 and 11y are rigidly secured to the said tub ,y the sections 7 and 8 are connected by hinges 12; the sections 8 and 9 are connected by hinges 13 and the sections 9 and 10 are connected by hinges 14. The hinges 12 permit themain coversection 8 to be turned into an open position, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and the hinges 13 and 14 permit the sections 9 and 10 to be folded together and turned upward so as t0 afford access to the interior of the tub without o ening up the main section 3. At a suitablle point eccentric to its spindle 2 and preferably to the upper portion of the tub is secured a hand-piece 15, by means of which the tub may be oscillated back and forth. V

Coiled springs 16, shown as attached to the anchor brackets 17 and 13, respectively on the tub and on the supporting frame 5, yieldingly hold the tub in an intermediate position andl assist in `returning the tub to such Vbevel gear 29.

j intermediate position when it has been oscillated in either direction therefrom.

Rigidly secured to the supporting frame 5 and projecting above the tub in the vicinity of the ends of the cover section 10 is a pair of pedestal rods 19 towhich a wringer supporting bar 20 is connected. This wringer supporting bar 20, at one end, is provided with a bearing 21 that is pivoted on one of the pedestal rods 19, but is held against vertical downward movement by a collar, shoulder or other suitable stop device, so that said bar will vsupport the wringer,-not shown, but which may be applied thereto-even when swung into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.y At its other or l'ree end the bar 20 is provided with a bifurcated bearing 22 that is adapted to straddle the other-pedestal rod 19 and is provided with a setscrew 23, which when tightened, locks the said bearing 22 and the l'ree end of the bar 20 to the said latter noted pedestal rod 19.

To the central portion of the bar 20 a bearing 24 is secured and a link 25 has a downturned outer end that is pivoted to said bearing 24 so that the said link is capable of horizontal oscillatory movement. The free in- 11er end of the link 25 is vertically bifurcated and provided with a set screw 26.

, The numeral 27 indicates a gear supporting bracket, the base flange of which rests loosely on vtop fof the cover section 8 and is provided with a hub 28 that extends through said cover section 8 at the axis oi' the tub and also projects upward to afford a bearing for a This gear 29 is provided with a projecting arm 30 that is secured by screws or other suitable devices to the cover section 8, so that the saidgear 29 will partake of the oscillatorygnovement of the tub 1, while the bracket 27l will yremain stationary. The gear 29 meshes with the intermediate bevel gear 31, as shown, mounted on a stud 32 projecting from the bracket 27. This intermediate gear 32 meshes with a third bevel gear 33 which has a long vertically extended sleeve 34, the lower end of which is journaled on the projecting upper end portion ol the hub 28 of the bracket 27 As a simple and eflicient way oi' journaling the upper end of the sleeve 34 to the upper arm 27 l of the bracket 27, a trunnion 35 is screwed into the upper end of said sleeve 34 and is journaled inv said arm 27a, being, as shown, provided with a nut 36 above said arm. A plungerlike shaft 37 is journ'aled inthe sleeve 28 of the bracket and is free for vertical endwise sliding movementsA through said hub and through the long sleeve 34 of the gear 33. Furthermore, this plunger shaft 37 is shown as provided at its upper end with diametrically opposite keys 38 that work on the long key-ways 39 in said sleeve 34. By this connection the plunger shaft 37 is caused to rotate with the sleeve 34 and its gear 33.

Vilorking within the tub and seciired to the eXtreme lower end of the plunger shaft 37 Y s' a-corrugated rubbing board 40 of disk-like form. A lifting chain or connection 41, at'- tached at its lower end to a lug 4 2 on the rubbirig board 40, extends upward through a passage 43 and the cover section 8, and

through a coincident perforation 44m the anchoring flange 30 of the gear 29. The passage is preferably made angular so that the chain, by lateral motion, may be interlocked therewith and cause the board 40 to be locked in an inoperative elevated position above I the corrugated bottoni of the tub. At its eXtreme upper end, the chain 41 is provided with a ring 45which affords a convenient fingerpiece for pulling upward the chain. The bracket 27 is provided with an outvirardly projecting arin 46 that normally rits in the bifurcated inner end of the link 25 and is rigidly securedthereto by the set screw 26 before described. I d

When the clothes are to be placed within the tub or Ito be removed therefrom, the cover, together with the bracket 27, rubbing board 40 and other parts secured thereto,

should be turned into the open or inoperae tive position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4,

and toy permit this it is necessary first to loosen the set screw 26 and thereby disconnect the bracket 27 from the link 25. If the wringer is applied to the supporting bar 20, the set screw 23 should be loosened and the said bar 20, together with the applied wringer, turned outward approximately as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 1 so that both will be clear of the top of the tub. This, it will be seen, does not necessitate the removal of the wringer from its position on the supporting bar, and affords means by which the wringer may be very quickly moved from' and restored to normal position on the tub.

When the clothes are in the tub, the rubbing board 40 should be allowed to rest on top thereof. When the tub is then oscillateduby taking hold of the hand-piece 15 or otherwise, the gear 29 will be carried with or caused to partake of the 'oscillatory movenient of thev tnb, and, through the intermediategea'rr 31 ,the gear 33 and its sleeve 34 the plunger shaft 37 and rubbing board 40 will consequently be caused to make oscillatory movements thatcorrespond in time with but arealways in reverse direction to the move ment of the tub. rl `hi s, jz isis 'ev-ident, gives a very greatly increased relative travel of the corrugated bottom of the tub in respect to the corrugated under surface of the rubbing board, or vice versa. As already indicated, the geai' supporting bracket 27 is fixed or anchored to the bar 20, so that it does not partake either of the motion of the tub or of therubbing board.

The improved machine, while of simple construction, may be very easily operated, is convenient, and furthermore, is generally erhcient for the purposeshad in view.

When the wringer is in use, the cover will, or' course, be turned into the open position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and the so-ealled link 25 may then be turned flatwise against the bar20 and can be secured in rsiich position out of the wayof the clothes by means of a set screw 24L which, as shown, is passed through the perforation in the bar 20, is screwed into the bearing 24 and iinv` pinges against the down-turned end of the said 1in'k2'5.

What l claim is: v

1. The combination' with an oscillatory tub and an oscillatory head within said trib, of a gear supporting bracket anchored above said tiib, a pair of bevel gears', one connected to oscillate with said tu'b and the other con'- nected to oscillate with said head, an intermediate gear mounted on said anchored gear supporting bracket and meshing with both of said gears, and a yielding device tending to hold said tub in an intermediate position, but permitting oscillations thereof, substantially as described.

2. The combination with suitable support and a tub mounted to oscillate thereon, of a gear supporting bracket anchored above lsaid tub and supported from said tub, a head within said tub, an upwardly extended shaft to the lower end of which said head is secured, a pair of bevel gears, one anchored to said tub and the other connected to said shaft by connections permitting vertical movements of said shaft and rubbing head or board, and an intermediate gear on said anchored bracket meshing with both of said pair of gears, substantially as described.

3. The combination with an oscillatory tub, an oscillatory head working therein and an upright shaft to the lower end. of which said head is secured, of means for connecting said tub and head for reverse oscillatory movements, comprising a bevel gear connected to oscillate with said tub, another bevel gear connected to oscillate with said shaft but permitting vertical movements of said shaft and hea an intermediate gear meshing with lsaid two gears, a supporting bracket for said intermediate gear, an an'- choring support that is inde )endent of the tub, and meansfor detacha ly connecting said gear supporting lbracket to said anchoring support, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a supporting lll frame and a tub mounted to oscillate thereon, said tub havingva hinged cover, of pedestal rods secured to said frame and projecting above said tub7 a wringer supporting bar supported by the upper ends of said pedestal rods, alink connected to the intermediate portion of said bar, a gear supporting bracket pivotally connected to the hinged cover of said tub and detachably connected lto said link, a pair of bevel gears mounted on said supporting bracket, one thereof having an arm anchored to said tub cover, and thel other having a long sleeve, an intermediate gear on said bracket meshing With the rst two gears, and a head in said tub having a 15 plunger shaft journaled in the lower hub portion of said bracket and connected to said sleeve, `substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS McEACHR-AN. Witnesses:

F. D. MERCHANT, HARRY D. KILGORE. 

